The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 17

As Henry continued walking around the gardens, he couldn't help but think about how upset his father had been with him. This walk was supposed to be soothing and help Henry take his mind off of his stress. Instead it was causing him to think harder about the recent events of his life.

Honestly, Henry was most upset that his brother Ralf had managed to get the prisoner to speak. Henry had no idea what Ralf did to get the man to talk and it was infuriating. Spitefully, Henry figured his younger brother must have cheated and used magic. Despite having verbalized that he was against using torture on the prisoner, surely the only way Ralf had succeeded was through the use of his magic. There was no other logical explanation Henry could think of.

The young king-to-be had taken his frustrations out on the prisoner afterwards. His knuckles were still sore from the escapade. Still, no matter how hard Henry beat the man, he refused to speak. 

Eventually after Henry had tired and taken a step back from the man, he noticed something he would not soon forget. Blood had been trickling from the prisoner's face, but it was not from the beating he had just taken. Instead, blood poured from his mouth. When Henry had forced the enemy's jaw open, he noticed the man had bit out his own tongue.

Completely repulsed by the image, Henry had jumped back in fear and disgust. The Nieblan only lifted his head and smiled over at Henry, as if pleased with himself. Henry could not fathom such loyalty and dedication. To Henry, the act of biting your own tongue out was not loyal but insane. Only a completely mental person would do such a thing. 

This man, this Nieblan enemy and prisoner, had forever subdued his own power to speak simply to restrain himself from releasing valuable information. 

Now, no matter how hard Henry were to hit the prisoner, the man would never speak. If he tried, his words would be too muddled to understand. Again, Henry had not only failed to perform as he wished, but he had made matters worse. 

Shaking his head, Henry forced his thoughts to shift. Such a task was easy once he came around to the front of the castle and saw the post in which the unity knot and Sangre Flower rested. The knot still dangled and was guarded by two Lyran men. Next to it, the Sangre Flower had grown in height, though it had yet to bloom. The thought of the impending marriage weighed down on Henry. He knew it was for the benefit of his kingdom and--honestly--he could not help but be pleased with the situation. By marrying Princess Karolina he not only made his father happy and his kingdom safe, but he also gained a beautiful woman by his side. 

Now his thoughts were quickly consumed by Princess Karolina. She was so unbelievably beautiful that the mere thought of her sent a rush through Henry. The only problem was that she was so annoyingly clingy. Recently however, she had given him some much needed space. Almost too much space. Henry now wondered where she was and what she was doing.

With his mind at ease, the prince ran into the castle to find the beautiful princess. He first went up to her bedroom chambers and tapped on the door. After a minute he gave up and hurried down the stairs to the kitchen. 

Sirey yelled at him to leave before he could even ask if the young apprentice-chef knew the whereabouts of his future bride. With a sigh, Henry leaned against the wall to ponder where she might be. The first thing that popped into his head was Ralf. She had been seen with him before, perhaps she was with him now.

Quickly, Henry ran towards one of two places his brother ever spent time: the training grounds. 

To the prince's surprise, he found Princess Karolina walking towards the grounds herself. He continued to run until he was at her side and then he halted his steps. 

The princess seemed frightened at first, not knowing who had approached her so swiftly. Then she smiled a little when she saw it was Henry.

"How are you?" she asked.